We don’t usually collect sports cards all our lives. We start as kids and then stop to buy a car, for example. But there’s a good chance we’ll return to the game at some point. After re-entry, however, the landscape of the hobby looks different, which can be fun, exciting, daunting, scary, or overwhelming.
Below are four valuable tips to help you ov
ercome challenges and successfully return to the world of collecting.
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
#1 Don’t Chase Everything
There are many new sports cards on the market. We don’t recommend collecting them all, no matter what sports cards you like. Until the mid-1990s, you could hunt anything from your favorite team or player. You could probably assemble any primary set because:
- Cards cost much less per box back then
- There were no long lists of parallels
- Autographs were kept to a minimum
Since then, the hobby has changed a lot. Even though a limited number of companies are making these cards today, each issue is tailored to a different type of collector.
#2 Cards Are Much More Expensive
Aside from a few outliers, you won’t find any new sports cards that don’t cost several dollars a pack. What may be harder to grasp is how much some products have skyrocketed. Prices have gone up, but it’s important to remember that there are different price points so that there are products out there for everyone. While there are some very high-end, expensive products, the variety of products available means that collecting is attainable for everyone. While cards can be expensive, you should focus on what you love and what you enjoy collecting.
#3 Making Money Isn’t Easy, Have Fun
Some people get involved with sports cards because they have the quick buck in mind. You can make money, but you’ll quickly find it’s not as easy as tearing up a box, selling the contents, moving on to the next box, and pocketing the profits. Making money from sports cards isn’t that easy – at least not on a significant scale.
As in any other industry, the most successful traders look for opportunities to make money; they fill in gaps that others don’t cover. That’s the key concept here. If you’re focusing on local card collectors, what are their needs? If you want to go online, what can you offer that’s different?
#4 Take Your Time
The sports cards industry looks very different compared with 25 years ago. Checklists are more extensive and often more complex. Distribution has changed, and people’s collecting habits have evolved. We haven’t even talked about the role of the Internet.
Take your time and look around carefully. Look at what types of cards are available and where to find them. Develop your own plan for how you collect. Exchange ideas with other collectors on forums, Twitter, or any of the ever-evolving forms of social media. There’s an extensive network of blogs you can use!
Bottom Line
Getting back to collecting sports cards after a while is challenging but possible. Just take into account what we mentioned above and start the old hobby. We are here to help. So don’t hesitate to contact us.
